Current Affairs – December 28, 2025

{GS2 – Social Sectors} Risk of Breast Cancer among Indian Women

• Context (TH): A recent population-based analysis by the ICMR identifies key lifestyle, metabolic and reproductive factors that significantly influence breast cancer risk in Indian women.

Key Findings of the Report

• Women with higher physical activity levels showed a significantly lower risk of breast cancer.
• Odds of developing breast cancer were ~3 times higher in women above 50 years.
• Women reporting more than two induced abortions showed a higher breast cancer risk.
• Abdominal fat accumulation emerged as a risk factor, highlighting the role of metabolic health.
• Genetic predisposition continues to be a strong non-modifiable risk factor in Indian women.
• No significant association was observed between breastfeeding duration and breast cancer risk.

About Breast Cancer

• Breast cancer is a malignant growth arising from breast tissue, commonly originating in the ducts or lobules, and is one of the most common cancers among women worldwide.
• It accounts for ~22.8% of all cancers in Indian women, making it the leading cancer among females.
• Early detection is crucial because more than 80% of patients survive five years when breast cancer is diagnosed early, but survival falls sharply in advanced stages.

{GS3 – Agri} State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025 Report **

• Context (DTE): A recent report, ‘State of Marginal Farmers in India 2025’, examines the engagement of marginal farmers in cooperatives.

Key Findings of the Report

• Low Participation: Less than 25% of marginal farmers participate in cooperatives, with the weakest engagement in Bihar, Tripura, and Himachal Pradesh.
• Income Impact: Cooperative-linked marginal farmers earn 45% higher household incomes and achieve 42% higher crop yields.
• Gender Leadership Gap: Despite 21.25 lakh women members, only 3,355 women hold cooperative board positions nationwide.
• Digital Divide: Digital adoption remains minimal; 77% cooperatives in Tripura and 25% in Bihar do not use any digital tools.
• Informal Dependence: Farmers outside cooperatives rely on moneylenders, becoming 2.5 times more vulnerable to climate shocks and price volatility.

Barriers Affecting Cooperative Engagement

• Procedural Hurdles: Membership and credit processes of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) are document-heavy and less attractive than informal credit channels.
• Social Exclusion: Local power structures marginalise SC/ST communities and women during credit disbursement or decision-making.
• Digital Divide: Low digital literacy restricts access to platforms like AgriStack and e-NAM, sustaining middlemen dependence.
• Awareness Deficit: Awareness of the benefits of cooperatives remains extremely low in some regions, reaching just 2.3% in Tripura.
• Gender Constraints: Restrictive social norms, limited mobility, and unpaid care work limit active membership roles for women.

Key Recommendations for Cooperative Engagement

• PACS Reform: Transforming PACS from credit-lending bodies into integrated multi-service rural hubs.
• Simplified Procedures: A single-window digital membership system to reduce paperwork and intermediary dependence.
• Gender Reservation: Mandatory reservation for women on all agricultural cooperative boards
• FPO Convergence: Formal collaboration between cooperatives and Farmer-Producer Organisations to improve market access.
• Policy Incentives: Direct investment incentives for smallholders adopting climate-resilient practices.
• Targeted Outreach: State-specific campaigns led by Kisan Mitras to communicate tangible benefits of cooperative membership.

Read More > Cooperative Sector’s Contribution to India | India’s Farm Sector & Associated Challenges

{GS3 – IE} Weak Private Sector Investment in India **

• Context (IE): Despite strong GDP growth in recent years, private sector investment in India has remained persistently stagnant.

Trends in Private Investment in India

• Private Share: Private corporate investment accounted for 34.4% of India’s Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCG) in FY 2023-24, the lowest since 2011-12.
• Investment Stagnation: Private corporate investment has remained near 12% of GDP for over a decade.
• Corporate Capex: Aggregate capital expenditure by listed companies reached ₹9.4 trillion in FY25, rising 11% year-on-year.
• Sectoral Spread: Oil and petrochemicals comprised 21% of private capex, followed by power and telecom at 12.8% each.
• Capex Focus: Manufacturing accounted for the largest projected private capex share at 43.8%.
• FDI Inflows: Gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows rose 14% to $81.04 billion in FY 2024-25.
  • Net FDI declined to $353 million in FY25 due to high repatriation and outward investment.

Factors Constraining Private Investment

• Demand Weakness: Weak rural consumption, stagnant real wages, and high food inflation constrain mass discretionary spending.
• Idle Capacity: Capacity utilisation below 75-80% in many sectors discourages fresh greenfield investment.
• Asset Shift: Corporates increasingly prefer liquid financial assets and overseas investments over long-term domestic physical projects.
• Cost Pressures: Volatile commodity prices and high energy costs compress margins, discouraging long-term capital investment.
• Policy Uncertainty: Frequent GST changes, import duty revisions, and regulatory reversals sustain a wait-and-watch investment approach.
• Low R&D: Private sector research and development spending of only 0.3% of GDP constrains innovation-led private investment.
• Skill Mismatch: Job-ready skill shortages delay projects in specialised manufacturing sectors.

Government Measures to Stimulate Private Investment

• PLI Schemes: Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes offer 4-6% incentives on incremental sales across 14 manufacturing sectors.
• Corporate Tax: The 2019 reform reduced corporate tax to 15% for new manufacturers and 22% for existing companies.
• Startup Funding: The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) created a ₹10,000-crore corpus by investing through SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).
• Credit Guarantees: CGTMSE and CGSS provide collateral-free loans up to ₹5-10 crore for MSMEs and startups.
• Single Window: The National Single Window System offers unified approvals across 32 central ministries and 28 states or UTs.
• Angel Tax: The Union Budget 2024-25 abolished the Angel Tax for all investors to improve private equity and venture capital inflows.
• ANRF Funding: The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) created a ₹50,000-crore fund to attract private investment in research and development.
• BIT Reforms: India began revising its Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) model in 2025 to strengthen investor protection and limit capital repatriation.

Way Forward

• Implement Reforms: Streamline land acquisition and fully implement labour codes to reduce operational costs and regulatory uncertainty.
• Boost Demand: Raise rural real wages and middle-class disposable incomes to sustain demand for capacity expansion.
• Align Skills: Establish industry-led skilling frameworks to reduce labour shortages in advanced manufacturing.
• Expand Finance: Deepen a more liquid corporate bond market to finance long-term industrial projects beyond bank credit.
• Ensure Stability: Maintain predictable GST rates, import duties, and incentives to reduce wait-and-watch investor behaviour.

Read More> Private Investment in the Indian Economy

{GS3 – S&T} India–Switzerland Convergence on Artificial Intelligence

• Context (IE): Switzerland pledged support for India’s AI Impact Summit 2026, endorsing a responsible AI ecosystem based on trust, ethics, and human dignity.

Key Areas of India–Switzerland AI Cooperation

• Inclusive AI: Switzerland’s Apertus (an open-source multilingual AI) and India’s efforts in local language AI aim to empower marginalised communities.
• Research Integrity: Swissnex India and the Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) have held joint workshops (Bharat Mandapam, 2025) on ethical AI in research and publishing.
• AI in Health: Collaboration spans AI-led drug discovery, medical imaging, and antimicrobial resistance, anchored by the Indo-Swiss AMR Innovation Dialogue.
• Startup Engagement: Through Swissnex India (Bengaluru), 500+ Swiss startups and researchers engage with India in DeepTech, AI-MedTech, and EdTech.
• Trade Framework: The India–EFTA TEPA (2024) provides an institutional base for Swiss investment in India’s AI and software sectors.
• Infrastructure AI: Cooperation includes Swiss AI-based signalling and track-maintenance technologies for Indian Railways to enhance safety and efficiency.
• Global Norms: “International Geneva” serves as a platform where Indo-Swiss diplomacy converts complex AI technologies into durable global rules and norms.

Read More > India’s Leadership in Global AI Governance

{GS3 – S&T} Growing Trend in India’s Intellectual Property **

• Context (TOI | CID): India crossed a historic milestone in FY 2024–25, with patent applications exceeding 1 lakh for the first time, reflecting the deepening of its domestic innovation and research ecosystem.

Drivers Behind the IP Surge

• Policy Reforms: The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 streamlined prosecution timelines, reduced compliance friction, and improved ease of filing.
• Digital Transformation: AI-enabled tools like Trade Mark Search Technology and IP Saarthi chatbot enhanced examination speed, accuracy, and 24×7 stakeholder support.
• Startup & Academic Push: Expansion of startups, higher R&D spending, and stronger academia–industry linkages boosted indigenous patenting activity.
• Manufacturing Momentum: Growth in electronics, pharmaceuticals, EVs, and consumer goods increased demand for patents and industrial designs.

Significance of India’s IP Surge

• Innovation Self-Reliance: With ~62% of patent filings by domestic applicants, India is reducing dependence on foreign technologies and strengthening Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Global Innovation Standing: India’s patent filings grew ~20% year-on-year, far above the global average growth rate, improving its position in global innovation rankings and investor perception.
• Manufacturing Value Addition: Rise in design registrations reflects growing emphasis on product differentiation, industrial design and value-added manufacturing.
• Traditional Knowledge Protection: GI filings doubled, strengthening protection of indigenous products and boosting rural and cultural economies.
• Startup & Research Ecosystem: India hosts 1.2 lakh+ startups and 1,100+ incubators, and rising patenting indicates better translation of research into protectable outputs.

Key Challenges in the IP Ecosystem

• Quality vs Quantity Risk: Rapid growth raises concerns about patent quality, as India’s grant-to-filing ratio remains lower than that of advanced patent offices, affecting commercial credibility.
• Regional Concentration: A handful of States and metros account for a majority of filings, mirroring uneven R&D spending where over 60% of GERD is concentrated in few regions.
• Commercialisation Gap: Less than 15–20% of granted patents are commercially exploited, limiting economic returns from innovation.
• Enforcement Bottlenecks: IP disputes often take 5–7 years for resolution, weakening deterrence against infringement and reducing investor confidence.

Way Forward

• Quality-Focused Examination: Upgrade examiner training and analytics under the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024, and use AI tools to improve substantive examination depth, not just speed.
• Commercialisation Ecosystem: Strengthen technology transfer offices, IP financing and industry partnerships, learning from models like South Korea’s university–industry IP linkage.
• Regional Innovation Spread: Expand IP Facilitation Centres under the National IPR Policy in Tier-II/III cities and align them with Startup India and MSME clusters.
• Public R&D Push: Leverage Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) funding to convert publicly funded research into high-quality patents with market relevance.
• Faster Enforcement: Operationalise specialised IP benches and digital case-tracking, building on the Commercial Courts framework to cut dispute timelines.

{Prelims – IR} India-France Defence Agreement

• Context (IE): India and France signed an agreement to enable the production of the SIGMA 30N system and the CM3-MR system in India.

About SIGMA 30N

• It is an Inertial Navigation System (INS) built by France based on the Digital Ring Laser Gyro (RLG) technology, which uses high precision lasers for orientation.
• It provides autonomous positioning and pointing capabilities without relying on GPS, and one of the shortest alignment time in the market, enabling “shoot-and-scoot” operations.
• The system is widely deployed across combat systems such as Artillery, Air Defence and Missile systems and Mobile Radars to enhance their accuracy.

About CM3-MR

• It is a direct firing sight system developed by France that provides precise line-of-sight targeting for combat platforms.
• The system integrates multi-sensor (optical for day operations, thermal imaging for night operations and an eye-safe laser rangefinder) targeting all-weather accuracy.
• It is primarily deployed on Artillery Guns, Anti-Drone Systems and Remote Weapon Stations (RWS) to increase their accuracy.

Read More > Indian Army’s Radar Upgradation

{Prelims – Species} Rhino Dehorning

• Context (TH): Dehorning 2,284 rhinos across reserves resulted in a 75–78% fall in poaching incidents, achieved with just 1.2% of anti-poaching budgets.

About African Rhinos

• Population Count: Africa has about 22,540 rhinos, including 15,752 White and 6,788 Black Rhinoceros.
• Body Colour: Both species are naturally slate-grey to brownish-grey, with apparent colour influenced by local mud wallowing.
• Horn Trait: African rhinos possess two keratin horns, unlike most Asian rhino species with a single horn.
• Body Size: They are the second-largest land mammals, with adults weighing between 800 to 3,500 kg.
• Distribution: Most wild rhinos occur in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. South Africa alone has 80% of the world’s remaining rhinoceros population.
• Ecosystem Role: By consuming massive vegetation, rhinos limit woody growth and maintain grasslands.
• Seed Cycling: Dung deposited in ‘middens’ disperses seeds and fertilises soil across grazing landscapes.

{Prelims – IR} 20-Point Peace Plan to end Russia-Ukraine War

• Context (IE): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled a 20-point peace plan, in consensus with the United States, to end the Russia–Ukraine war.

Key Highlights of the Plan

• Security Guarantees: Legally binding security guarantees equivalent to NATO Article 5 from the U.S., NATO, and European partners.
• European Integration: A defined timeline for Ukraine’s European Union (EU) membership with interim preferential access to European markets.
• Military Strength: Ukraine would retain a peacetime armed force strength of about 800,000 personnel, rejecting major demilitarisation.
• Non-Aggression Pact: A legally binding, comprehensive non-aggression pact, with Russia embedding commitments in domestic law.
• Free Economic Zones: Creation of demilitarised and free economic zones in the Donbas region to address the territorial deadlock.

Read More > Russia – Ukraine Crisis

{Prelims – Tribes} Santhali Translation of the Constitution Released

• Context (PIB): The President of India released the Santhali-language translation of the Constitution of India, coinciding with the birth centenary of the Ol Chiki script.

About Santhali Language

• It belongs to the Austroasiatic language family (Munda sub-group) and is classified as “Vulnerable” by UNESCO. It is the language of the Santhal tribe.
• It is primarily spoken in Jharkhand with major presence in West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, and Chhattisgarh.
• It was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution by the 92^nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, and is an additional official language in Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• The Ol Chiki script was created by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in 1925 as a dedicated writing system for the Santhali language to replace the use of borrowed scripts like Bengali and Odia.
  • Unlike many Indic scripts, it is alphabetic (not syllabic), and its 30 symbols are inspired by shapes found in nature and everyday objects.

{Prelims – In News} India’s first PPP Model Medical Colleges

• Context (IE): The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare laid the foundation of India’s first Public-Private Partnership (PPP)-model medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh.

• The colleges are located in tribal districts of MP – Dhar (Western MP) and Betul (Central MP); two more such colleges are planned for Katni (Eastern MP) and Panna (Northern MP).
• The associated district hospitals will be upgraded as per National Medical Commission (NMC) norms.

Read More > India’s Medical Education Crisis

{Prelims – In News} New Indian Standard for Incense Sticks

• Context (DD): The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs released a new Indian Standard for incense sticks on the occasion of National Consumer Day 2025 (24^th December).

Key Details

• The standard is titled IS 19412:2025 and has been developed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
• It specifies prohibited chemicals and classifies agarbattis into machine-made, hand-made and traditional masala categories while prescribing specifications for raw materials.
• India is the world’s largest producer & exporter of agarbattis, with industry valued at around ₹8,000 crore annually.

About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

• It is India’s National Standards Body, established under the BIS Act, 2016, as the successor to the Indian Standards Institution.
• It functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, is HQ in New Delhi.
• It conducts formulation & certification, granting licences to ensure quality, safety, & reliability of goods.